New Musical "LMNOP" Gets Workshop At Goodspeed's Norma Terris Theatre

Scott Burkell

Scott Burkell

FRANK RIZZO, rizzo@courant.comHartford Courant

The musical fantasy, “LMNOP” will have a workshop production atGoodspeed Musicals’ Norma Terris Theatre July 25 to Aug. 18

The show is the third workshop production on Goodspeed’s second stage, following announcements of “The Fabulous Lipitones” on May 9 to June 2 and “Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook” based on their music of Stephen Schwartz(“Wicked,” “Pippin,” “Godspell”) on Oct. 24 to Nov. 17.

“LMNOP” has music by the Jonathan Larson Award-winners composer Scott Burkell and Paul Loesel. The show has book and lyrics by Burkell and music by Loesel.

Their musical "The Extraordinary Ordinary" received the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Grant, workshops at ASCAP and CAP21 and productions at the Philly Fringe Festival, Farmers Alley Theatre, and Off-Broadway’s Clurman Theatre. They have received the Jonathan Larson and Burton Lane Awards. Recordings of their work appear on recordings by Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley’s ("Opposite You"), Stephanie J. Block ("This Place I Know") and Rebecca Luker ("Greenwich Time") as well as in musical revues: "Love Songs and Other Crap" and "Sorta Love Songs."

The show is described: "When letters begin to fall from a monument in town, government officials ban them one by one. Chaos ensues until a determined teenage girl rallies the community to fight for freedom of speech. This unique musical is part romance, part clever word game and part adult fable that reminds us of how precious our liberties are, how quickly unbridled extremism can take them from us, and how important it is to have the courage to stand up for what we believe."

The show will be directed by Joe Calarco, who staged a New York reading of the show last fall.

The show was previously known as “Ella Minnow Pea,” based in the 2001 novel of that name by Mark Dunn.